De Phazz

De Phazz

De Phazz (GER)

De Phazz is a downtempo jazz ensemble integrating modern turntablism and elements of soul, Latin, trip hop and drum and bass into a lounge music sound. De Phazz is led by German-Austrian producer Peter “Pit” Baumgartner, who surrounded himself with a shifting cast of collaborators that featured vocalists Barbara Lahr, Karl Frierson, and Pat Appleton, as well as drummer Oli Rubow.

Albums like Detunized Gravity (1997), Godsdog (1999), Death by Chocolate (2001), Daily Lama (2002), Days of Twang (2007), and Big (2009) explored various terrains of 21st century lounge music, much of it balancing samples with live instrumentation, with innumerable cross-sections of jazz, soul, easy listening, and Latin music. Detunized Gravity is a rich combination of diverse styles: Jazz, soul, Latin, rhythm and blues, and groove all blend into an easy listening cocktail. Their 1999 release Godsdog is a mixture of trip hop with the sounds of drum and bass played in a smooth easy listening style. The songs on band’s third album Death By Chocolate (2001) are a fusion of computerized soul with live instruments and strong vocals. In Daily Lama (2002), the vocals also more central, while the sound of Natural Fake (2005) has a raw character by comparison and relies more heavily on guitar. Big is their seventh album and it’s like a „greatest hits“ cut of a special kind... all in a fresh arrangement, recorded with the Big Band of German public radio station HR. Band is currently touring their 8th album “LaLa 2.0”, released in April 2010.
Current members are Patricia Appleton (vocals), Karl Frierson (vocals), Frank Spaniol (saxophone), Bernd Windisch (bass), Oliver Rubuow (drums) and Markus Lang (keyboards).